Learn to say Farewell
by MikRES
Summary: Crossover with HP, Sequel to ‘Meeting Luna’. Luna’s starting to do accidental magic, brought on by unstable emotions as she deals with the recent death of her mother. Members of NCIS try to help but soon have to deal with their own tragedy.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, spoilers for the NCIS episodes: "Twilight" and "Kill Ari". **

**Title: Learn to say Farewell**

**Summary: Sequel to 'Meeting Luna'. Luna's starting to do accidental magic, brought on by unstable emotions as she deals with the recent death of her mother. Members of NCIS try to help but soon have to deal with their own tragedy.**

**Prologue**

"Ducky? Where are you headed? We have bodies downstairs—"

"I'm sorry Jethro, but I have to catch a flight to England."

"England?"

Ducky stopped as Gibbs caught up to him by the elevators. "What's going on in England, Ducky?"

"There was an accident. Luna's mother…" Ducky trailed off and Gibbs leaned forward, watching him carefully.

"Accident?"

Ducky nodded. "Unfortunately, her father is in no condition to take care of a child now. I'm bringing her back with me."

Gibbs nodded. "Let me know if I can help."

"Thank you Jethro. Feel free to drop by—I should be back in a couple of days."

* * *

**AN: **Updates will be intermittent as I work out the details, but this was the story I had in mind when I wrote 'Meeting Luna', and builds on the relationships that were started there. It'll still make sense if you don't read the first story though. More magic in this one.


	2. Abruptness of Loss

**Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, spoilers for the NCIS episodes: "Twilight" and "Kill Ari". **

**Title: Learn to say Farewell**

**Summary: Sequel to 'Meeting Luna'. Luna's starting to do accidental magic, brought on by unstable emotions as she deals with the recent death of her mother. Members of NCIS try to help but soon have to deal with their own tragedy.**

**Chapter 1: The Abruptness of loss**

Ducky sighed as Luna yanked her arm out of his hands and ran out of the parlor and up the stairs. He got up and headed to the kitchen, checking that his mother was safely asleep before starting a pot of tea. Once he had a nice brew, he perched himself on a kitchen stool with his warm cup and watched the rain fall.

* * *

"What's the point of magic if it can't fix anything?" Luna asked angrily.

"Magic isn't the solution to everything, my dear. Life happens with and without magic—and while there are things that one can influence and change, we must accept that there are some events we have no control over—"

"No! I want to bring her back! The wards should have stopped anything bad from happening—my—my magic should have done something to help her—_her_ magic should have protected her—mum is a brilliant witch—"

She stopped as the glass of water he'd brought in and placed on the coffee table shattered. She glared at the interruption as he took advantage of the distraction and cut in with his own observation.

"My dear, it's normal to be upset. Quite understandable and your passion for bringing her back—Luna, it's something many of us wish we could do. Much to my chagrin, it's not possible and we all have to learn to live without her. It'll take time to see life past the gaping hole her absence has made, but you need to try. You've been doing a lot of accidental magic lately and the WCPA1—"

"Fat lot of good it does me."

"Luna!" The tips of her blonde hair were lifting even though there was no wind.

"WHAT?"

He waved pointedly at her hair. She didn't even turn to look, just narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

Ducky sighed as the lights flickered. "I understand you're distraught, child, but your anger is unfounded. It was an unfortunate accident." Ducky wanted to help her mourn, help her understand and eventually accept, but for the last three days the young girl had been having these mood swings that jumped from a worrisome half-catatonic state that sent Tyson to whimpers, to vehement denial and now anger, both accompanied with bouts of accidental magic—and really needed to be snapped out of it. The corgis would do nothing but howl in her presence, the stress was putting a strain on his mother, causing the dementia to escalate, and he was worried about the WCPA stopping by to obliviate any potential witnesses to her erratic magic. They had suggested that a magical guardian would be better suited for her temporary guardianship while Xenophilius recovered from his breakdown at his wife's death, but Ducky had fought tooth and nail for custody. She would be better with people she knew, cared for, and could help her see that life would continue—people that would help her honor the memory of her mother and help her grieve.

She was definitely moving past the shock and into denial and anger. But how did one explain to a child that life was unfair? That the magic she had grown up around, believed in, and was starting to experience—could do nothing to ease her loss?

"We all miss her, Luna." He said softly, as he carefully picked up the pieces of broken glass. He'd have to remember to pick up some new glassware. That was the second glass to break in three days. "And its natural to be feeling…"

Luna tuned him out as she stared at the shining surface of the water spreading on the coffee table. Uncle Ducky didn't understand. She'd been there—right there—she should have done something—there had to be something she could still do. She didn't understand why her father had not gotten a time turner from the Ministry, gone back, and prevented the horrible explosion from happening. Or getting home earlier to dig them out. She'd been pinned for _hours_ and her mum had been bleeding—alive, but unresponsive. If her magic had only reacted to send a message, or stop the bleeding… if her magic could break that stupid glass, why didn't it blast a hole on the bookshelf that she'd found herself under? There had to be something they could still do. Necromancers didn't really bring people back from the dead, but--

Her attention was drawn back into the room as Ducky gently placed a bracelet around her wrist.

"This'll keep your magic from flaring… for everyone's safety." Ducky was saying, apologetically.

How dare he put a barrier around the only thing she could hope would bring her mum back, the only thing that could make things right again? She yanked her arm out of his hands and ran up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her as she threw herself onto the bed.

* * *

Gibbs rang the doorbell to the Mallard home, shaking the rain off of his coat. He took one look at Ducky as he opened the door and knew things weren't going well.

"Where is she, Ducky?" he asked softly, putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Upstairs, second door on the left."

Gibbs nodded and took the stairs two at a time. He knocked on the door softly, then pushed it open and slipped inside.

Luna had calmed down and was curled up in a corner of the bed, holding a picture frame in her hands. She was concentrating on it, trying to force her magic to overcome the magical bracelet and make the picture reanimate. It was a photograph taken a few years ago, with her mother sitting on the couch while the younger version of herself scampered around on the floor. From its current state, it looked like her mother was sleeping.

"Hey." He greeted, sitting carefully next to her on the bed. The poor girl looked like a wreck. Gibbs glanced at her hands and even though he had not met Seraphina before, there was no doubt in his mind who that was. Sighing, he picked her up and put her on his lap, his arms stretching out to envelop her in a hug as he tucked her head under his chin.

Luna sniffled. Uncle Gibbs gave the best hugs. Just like mum.

"Can you bring her back, Uncle Gibbs?"

He shook his head sadly. "Not the way you mean. But you know she's not really gone, right?" he spoke softly as he rocked her, careful to allow her to continue looking at the photograph. "As long as you remember her, you won't lose her."

"It doesn't look like mum." Luna said softly.

He moved one hand to tilt the picture frame upwards a bit so he could get a better look. The younger Luna in the picture was under the couch, caught in the process of wriggling herself out and to the front of the photo. "I didn't get the opportunity to meet her, but that little girl sure looks like you."

She was quiet for so long that he started to rock her again. "Luna?"

"The picture doesn't look like mum. I know it's her—I know it's supposed to be her, but she doesn't look like that. She never sleeps that way—she likes being curled up on her side, like me. Her eyes are bluer, her hair is shinier… I—I look at the picture and it doesn't look like her. I don't know if the picture is wrong or if I am, and… and… she can't be gone, she just can't!"

Gibbs squeezed her gently. "Did you know that I lost my wife and daughter while on deployment?"

Luna turned around with her eyes wide and filled with tears. He gently wiped one away as it leaked out. "While I was away, I'd always have a picture of them with me. I didn't need to look at it to remember they were home but it helped to have something that represented them with me. When I came back and found out they had died… everything looked different. I saw pictures that Shannon had taken of Kelly—my daughter—smiling with friends I didn't know, working on projects I wasn't there to participate in—and the people in the pictures _did_ look different from my memories. Kelly even had short hair for some time—she never had that when I was home." He paused, and Luna leaned her head on his shoulder, hugging his torso as she listened to his heart beat.

"Then one day, I was going through the attic and I found a video we'd made on Kelly's fifth birthday." He looked down to meet Luna's eyes. "I remember their voices the best. For my daughter, it was the sound of her laughter—how her eyes shined when she saw the bicycle we'd gotten her, how she pouted when I told her we'd have to put on training wheels before she could try it, and how she excited she was when I told her she would be allowed to help me put them on. Shannon's smile has always stayed with me. Her confidence, her kindness, the certainty with which she approached life. She had rules for everything—even the simplest things like who to sit next to on a train ride." His eyes stung with unshed tears but he swallowed the knot around his throat and looked down at the young girl with a smile.

"Pictures capture a snapshot, Luna. Never let them dictate what is in your memory. She's in here," he pointed at his heart, "and up here," he indicated his head, "whether or not the camera can capture that, it's his problem."

She smiled and he tweaked her nose as Ducky poked his head through the door. "Thanks, Uncle Gibbs." She said softly as she gave him a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Ducky." She said, looking at the floor. The medical examiner smiled and relaxed as he walked into the room with a cup of tea. He put it on the bedside table as he sat down and put an arm around Luna's shoulders.

"It's quite all right." He said as he tucked her in, making sure the picture frame was placed under her pillow and kissing her forehead before leaving the room.

* * *

Luna curled up on the bed and stared at the window on the other side of the dark room. She turned on the bedside lamp and brought the picture frame out from under her pillow and held it with one hand as she pushed herself up on her pillow to lean against the headboard. Picking up the cup of tea, she closed her eyes and inhaled its aroma before drinking it as she ran her fingers lightly across the picture frame.

After a few minutes, she turned off the lamp and snuggled back under the covers, her eyes still open, her fingers clutching the picture tightly. She went back to staring out the window, not noticing how the woman in the picture had picked up the child and was now holding her tenderly in her arms as they curled up together on the couch.

* * *

As they walked down the stairs and into the study, Gibbs turned to Ducky with a questioning look. "When did she start drinking tea instead of hot chocolate?"

"She's been quite insistent about it actually. Green tea with a dollop of raspberry jam and a dash of milk… just the way her mother liked it." Ducky replied with a sad smile.

* * *

**AN: This is the beginning! I hope Luna wasn't too OOC in the beginning, but she's a distraught child that just lost her mother and doesn't understand how to cope. Truth is, I wouldn't either.**

**1****WCPA = Wizarding Child Protective Association**

**Review!**


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